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PRESS RELEASE: Manfrotto School of Xcellence Hosts Free Webinar on Taking Great Portraits

Ramsey, N.J. (November 24, 2010)— Manfrotto School of Xcellence, a free resource for anyone who wants to learn more about photography, is proud to announce a free webinar titled “Great Portraits Don’t Just Happen,” which will take place on Thursday, December 2nd from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. The host, Sports Illustrated Staff Photographer Bill Frakes, will discuss the planning, preparation and good communication which goes into an alluring portrait.

Bill Frakes is based in Florida and is a world class photographer who has made portraits of everyone from President Obama to his 9-year old daughter, Havana. In this webinar Frakes will describe his professional experience in making portraits, particularly his 10-day road trip around the United States to make six portraits for Sports Illustrated before the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.

“Each portrait requires the same kind of thought process,” explains Frakes. “Photographers need to know the kind of person that is being photographed and what they want the outcome to be. Once that is decided, photographers can go about planning lighting schemes and preparing or researching backgrounds.”

Renowned for his work, Frakes has received hundreds of national and international awards, including the coveted Newspaper Photographer of the Year award in the prestigious Pictures of the Year competition and a Pulitzer Prize as a member of the Miami Herald staff’s coverage of Hurricane Andrew.

About Manfrotto Distribution Manfrotto Distribution, Inc. is a leading distributor of key accessories brands for the photographic, video, cine and lighting production markets. Manfrotto Distribution is an international company within the Imaging Division of the Vitec Group, which owns the following leading international brands: Manfrotto, Gitzo, Kata, Avenger, and Litepanels. As the US distributor of National Geographic Bags and Tripods, Metz, Gossen, Elinchrom, Lastolite, Rotatrim, Genus and Datacolor, which are available nationwide through an extensive network of authorized dealers, Manfrotto Distribution offers the most complete range of exceptional camera and lighting accessories in the business. The Manfrotto Distribution international network covers the USA, Germany, France, Italy, UK, Japan and China. www.manfrottodistribution.us.